Longitude: 73°58'19.16"W
The Permanent Mission of India to the UN reflects an international aesthetic from an India born architect, Charles Correa. Manhattan has very few "eastern" styled buildings, and a distinct lack of domes or mosque type minarets. The overall architectural identity of the city is distinctly, and perhaps deliberately, Western. This building, however, projects an "aura of the subcontinent" by means of the sandstone colored cladding and open porch emblematic elements.
Built in 1993, the facade was undergoing some sort of construction and had scaffolding blocking the entrance. For many years, a legal dispute between the city and owner (Permanent Mission of India v. City of New York) may have tarnished any lustre this building once had. The quality of the curtainwall installation I found to be lacking. If you follow the corner up, it is definitely not true, and zig-zags all over the place. The site is also awkward and the post construction demolition of adjacent building has left a blank uncladded scar on the side. The panels and granite are also not perfectly color matched.
